The folks in The Notwist have been quietly kicking around for ages, always remaining just below the radar but always crafting consistently good pop. If any band was genetically related to Stereolab and Kraftwerk Notwist would be that band. Adopting a minimal approach that's experimental yet ridiculously accessible Notwist blend Krautrock, electronic, and drone principles with pop sensibilities and obtain extremely listenable results. This is especially true on their latest effort Close To The Glass.
Close To The Glass is a glitchy and gurgling electronic work that drones on but envelopes your brain with hypnotic pounding sounds. It's a bit brutal, a bit melodic, a bit chaotic, and a bit too organized. It's a study in contrasts with a beat. A song like the title track, for example, clangs and bangs at a snails pace but is followed by a blast of pop cheer that goes by the title of, "Kong." Such is the dichotomy and approach The Notwish use. Experimenting is a part of who they are but they never lose the site of a pop hook and how to take those clangs and make them memorable. It's all very post modern minimalism that really should annoy the heck out of you but thanks to the songwriting talent and their ability to bring you right up to that line and then suddenly pull you back Close To The Glass works.
Walking a fine line between enjoyment and annoyance The Notwist are master chemists with an electronic chemistry set. Blending chaos and organization together into something that's melodically accessible while still far out in left field takes talent and clearly this band has it. They may never rise above the radar of popularity but one can assume that The Notwist are fine with that as long as they can experiment and tinker with complete freedom. Close To The Glass is an excellent effort from a band that rarely does anything wrong...pretty amazing for a group of mad sonic scientists if you ask me.
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